Category Archives: Education

Once again the Commander-in-Chief has chosen to denigrate his own country while “campaigning” abroad. Judging by the crowd at the Brandenburg Gate, it has done little to stop the slide of his once rock-star persona. As with many Progressive thinkers, the President attempts to twist and contort freedom into something which divides instead of empowers, this time pitting certain schools and educational (choices) against the Constitution. This from the POTUS who has arguably done more to promote class warfare and division than any before him. He even harkened back to the Civil War and the lasting pain of slavery, leaving out of course, the far shorter road to equality and human justice as its legacy, and as opposed to much of the rest of the world for thousands of years before.

A president’s second term is always a window into his true beliefs, as his focus shifts to legacy instead of re-election. This president is no different, and I would argue less ambiguous than his predecessors. His disdain for America, combined with an alternative albeit inaccurate view of its history, helps paint the picture of a bitter and uncompromising ideologue, reluctant at best to engage in any debate which might contradict his interpretations, a regrettable outcome to a Presidency sold as “Hope and Change”. Moreover, his continuing desire to promote his viewpoint on the “other side of the pond” leaves little doubt of his intent to rally sympathetic forces outside the homeland. Thankfully, and as appears to be the case here in the States, his influence has waned under the righteous stress of truth and reason.

This is a letter from a doctor in my home state of Rhode Island. Read my response below.

Doreen Ciancaglini: NRA vs. our children

Doreen Ciancaglini: NRA vs. our children

Comments 10

April 18, 2013 12:32 pm

As a pediatrician, I spend much of my day providing guidance to the parents of my patients, to educate them regarding many issues, ranging from nutrition to safety. I was disheartened to see the defeat of the bill on expanded background checks on gun sales bill. Most of us want less gun violence. Most of us want fewer gun fatalities, such as in the Newtown tragedy.

Most of us want our schools safe for our kids. How can this be accomplished? We have to make a start. The organization that promotes gun ownership at all cost, the National Rifle Association, is not primarily interested in these safety issues. They aggressively and actively lobby senators to reject any type of reform. They’ve duped some Americans into believing that it’s about their freedoms.

Their victory is a defeat for those if us seeking to keep our children safe.

As I and my colleagues continue to advise parents on child safety, we hope that part of our anticipatory guidance won’t have to include “since there are so many guns out there in the hands of the wrong people, just stay home.”

Doreen Ciancaglini, M.D. North Providence

Response:

The biggest problem supporters of the Second Amendment face is ignorance, (purposeful or otherwise), in terms of what it really means. After that, it’s just plain ideological.

This is evidenced in Doreen Ciancaglini’s letter of 5/5/13. In it she refers to the NRA as “not primarily interested in these safety issues”, referring to the defeat of the “background checks” bill. Now I don’t necessarily wish to school the good doctor on the “entire” text of that particular piece of legislation, or for that matter, the nightmares sure to arise out of legal challenges by way of the “HIPAA” statutes, (regulations I would hope she is familiar with), but I will take issue with her assertion on safety. It is a simple fact that there is no agency or entity which has done more to promote the safe ownership and handling of firearms in this country than the NRA. A simple google search would help the average person understand this. Regrettably however, and while I respect and admire her commitment to serve her fellow human being, Dr. Ciancaglini (and others) seem content to demonize that which they clearly do not understand. I wonder what her position is on, swimming pools, automobiles, alcohol, or even “fireworks and ball bearings”, none of which are directly associated with one of the “Bill of Rights”, or the foundational liberty which built and now protects the nation she practices in. The “reasonable discussion” continues to elude…

When you ask the average American, “Are you in favor of background checks for people buying guns?”, the obvious answer will be yes. As with all “polls” however, when you adjust the question to reflect the hidden details, you get a different (and more educated) answer. My point is that the President’s assertions about American’s feelings on gun control are skewed and highly political to say the least. Moreover, how in the world can we have a logical discussion on making our children and our nation safer, when our ideological chief executive’s contribution is to exploit the parents of Sandy Hook by flying them around from sound-bite to sound-bite on Air force One.

If there is anyone out there who believes the President of the United States cares about anything other than positioning himself politically by attempting to demonize and divide the opposition, please remove your head from the partisan sand before you suffocate.

“This is not about me.” Really Mr. President? I think this is all about you.

“Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.” – James Russell Lowell

The issues of our time are daunting to be sure. It’s often hard to even get our minds around much of it. And whether it’s our narcissistic and ideologically driven President, or a media constrained and indecisive Speaker of the House, we are just not getting our money’s worth out of Washington. To watch these self-centered opportunists juggle our children’s future would be laughable for all the pandering and posturing, that is if it weren’t so down-right irresponsible. And so it falls to “We the People” to look beyond this political cartoon to the truth, for posterity sake.

There is good and bad in this, the good obviously being the God-given freedom to change our representative government by way of the vote when necessary. The bad news is that ignorance of fact and history, as well as a growing entitlement mindset, drive that vote for some. The result is often the slow but inevitable decline of a once powerful nation. Nevertheless, for some of us the battle continues as we refuse to give up on that “American Dream”, a dream framed by the Founders and nurtured by wiser generations than ours. Change may be a constant, but it is only good when defined by faith, principle and Liberty.

I began this post with some poignant words from Lowell and I will close with them. In the end, we have choices…

My opinions on Sheldon “Silver Spoon” Whitehouse are no secret, nor is my assertion he is unfit to hold any public office. With that said today, I remain confused at how and why this clearly pro-abortion politician winds up giving a major policy speech at an esteemed Catholic Institution of higher learning. The sort of strange and quasi-historical “double standard” applied by folks like Rev. Brian Shanley in his press release on the matter, is nothing short of unsettling. Rest assured however, I mean to understand how it is that opportunistic and ideological demagogues like Senator Whitehouse are allowed an unchallenged platform in a place where God’s words “Thou shall not kill” should bar them at the door.

Now I think anyone with half a brain can figure out Whitehouse is looking for a couple of snapshots with the good Reverend to use in future campaigns. The question is, why does Tom Tancredo get the axe because his positions on immigration don’t jive with Bishop Tobin’s, but Whitehouse is allowed in with the blood of the unborn on his hands.

This just doesn’t pass the sniff test for me. The administrators over at PC, (home of my beloved Friar’s), are gonna have to do better than a little press release before they skate on this one.

On the recent snow storm in the North East, it’s a bit disconcerting how some were not prepared for “Nimo”. The aftermath of the late winter storm was challenging to say the least, but I think folks have become pre-conditioned to panic and pre-disposed to whining. Buck up my fellow New Englanders, the elderly and those with disabilities need us to be there for them when these things happen. Take responsibility for your well-being and that of your family. Accept that things may get rough, but context and empathy should help. A bit of forethought and planning wouldn’t hurt either. Okay, moving along…

Is Nancy Pelosi brain-dead or just an idiot? I always catch flak for framing my stuff like this, but sometimes the frustration level goes off the charts when I hear what comes out of the mouths of some in Washington. Who in their right mind supports a person like this for elected office. For a Congressperson sent to Washington to do the business of “We the People”, to even suggest the U.S. government doesn’t have a spending problem indicates either a lack of regard for the intelligence of the electorate, or demonstrates a total black-out when it comes to the fundamental principles of mathematics we all learn as children. Now I have followed Representative Pelosi’s “career” for some time and have never found her to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. That said, I have to believe its the former which applies here. This women thinks we’re stupid

Listen up people, this is beyond foolishness now. “If” you value your children’s future, you must accept the United States is broke, heavily in debt, and racing toward financial Armageddon. There is simply no longer any place in Congress for lying political dinosaurs like Nancy Pelosi. Hello California District 12. Is anybody home???

I was interested to read some of the comments made by those who attended the (anti- NRA rally), which is what it was, in Washington this past week. Consequently, it’s pretty clear many folks are just uninformed when it comes to our Constitution and the Amendments to it. When you take this in context with other historical challenges to the next generation, it isn’t hard to see why we’re in this mess.

Now there’s plenty of blame to go around, from the revisionists who’ve infiltrated our public schools, to the political opportunists content to look the other way when misinformation facilitates their own selfish endeavor. We may even look in our own homes where some parents fail to set the record straight. Nevertheless, I’m going to take one more crack at the Second Amendment for those who still don’t get it.

Putting aside the numbers, because we understand the real numbers collected by our own government don’t support the argument for “gun control”, and even forgoing the “Lame Stream Media’s” ratings driven sensationalism, as well as their unabashed “solidarity” with 44, you must understand, the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting!

If I hear one more brain surgeon talking about “not wanting to take away my hunting rifle”, I’m gonna scream. For the record, the Amendment was debated and added on the premise that an armed “We———the People”, as the POTUS puts it, could not only protect ourselves from would be assailants, but that one of those assailants might just be a renegade government. As difficult as it may be for some to accept, the intent was to ensure “the people” never be deprived of the ability to take up arms and reconstitute, and/or even replace their government, thus the true power would always rest with “the people”. This right is truly unique among nations.

Now understanding of the Second Amendment doesn’t make me a radical who supports armed rebellion, but rather it makes you an idiot for not doing your homework and realizing why our Constitution is such an important document. Or is it something else? Maybe, just maybe, the true intent of the Amendment is what Liberal Progressives fear most, and they seek to destroy it by exploiting grievous tragedy and misrepresenting the facts as they do. Hmmm…

Whether you agree with him or not, Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of The United States for a second term. The backdrop of this inauguration however, will be one of uncertainty and disillusionment to be sure.

We are living in a time of choices like we have never faced, and they are not necessarily ideological choices. Nevertheless, most Americans must now decide whether they will recognize and accept the factual evidence of our national “situation”, or whether they will choose to ignore that evidence, blame someone or something else, and hope the “situation” will correct itself. Here are some undeniable truths to consider though, if you have the intestinal fortitude…

Our overall economy has already morphed into an over-extended and dormant entity on life support, chugging along at what would normally be considered a pathetic pace. Stocks are up though they are critically overvalued paper, and lack the raw capital which once calmed a long term investor. Unemployment remains under-reported and elevated because of uncertainty over the rising costs associated with owning and running a business. Ideological taxes and benefit burdens threaten to blow up middle America, with a recent report from a former GAO Chief predicting Obamacare may very well collapse the entire economy. (Note: Most credible analysts who aren’t drinking the Obama Kool-Aid support that prediction.) And as a nation, we spend nearly twice what we take in, with our debt now growing beyond our realistic ability to pay it off of our great-grandchildren’s backs.

In full view of all of these facts many have simply chosen to dig in their partisan heals and spit into the proverbial fan. Politicians for life on both sides of the aisle have put us on a collision course with financial Armageddon, and there seems little “We the People” are prepared to do about it. Moreover, Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in a President tomorrow, who lacks both the life experience and historical grasp to lead us back onto the right avenue, a demagogue, drunk on perceived adoration, and who is content see this college experiment through to it’s inevitable conclusion, even if it means the United States emerges but a shell of its former glory.

Now some will call me a racist for my conclusions. Still others will call (me) the partisan, and I will undoubtedly argue against this foolishness to the bitter end. That said, what we are facing here is a mathematical certainty with unimaginable consequences, which can no longer be denied or framed as just some radical doomsday prediction. The hard numbers are now in plain sight. Make no mistake, I too am stunned at how quickly this country was lulled into a catatonic 1960’s mentality, unable to see reality or reason, blinded by rhetoric, and selfishly willing to deny their posterity.

So as I watch and listen to President Obama take the oath of office once more, and I hear him swear to uphold the Constitution of this nation once again, and then I listen some more as he will undoubtedly rehash much of the old “Hope and Change” diatribe, I will be considering my sons and our children’s America. Regrettably, my conclusions will be the same as they were in 2008. The President is not the problem. We are…

A horrible and sickening event occurred in Newtown Connecticut this past December. A deranged person shot and killed innocent women and children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Consequently, there is little doubt the shock and despair associated with that incident will be with the families of the lost, as well as the nation for some time to come. Regrettably however, and in the time since that fateful day, it has become increasingly clear that the President of The United States, riding some perceived political mandate, will attempt to exploit the lost lives of Newtown in order to advance the ideological issue of gun control.

I do not say this lightly, and indeed I was willing to give the father of two young daughters the benefit of the doubt in the days immediately following the murders. Having said that, Vice President Joe Biden dropped the inevitable political bombshell today, as the newly formed “gun control task force” was meeting in Washington. Simply put, and to no one’s surprise who has been watching this Administration with any objectivity, Biden hinted Mr. Obama might in fact bypass Congress and invoke “executive privilege” to initiate gun control measures. I’m sorry folks, but this abuse of power is unnecessary and unwarranted based on the facts and common-sense. However it does give us great insight into the foregone conclusions drawn of this masquerade run by the VP. There will be no real consideration of the evidence, only a rigged outcome born of a baseless, ideological and un-Constitutional Left Wing agenda, ever-poised to strike with crisis afoot..

Make no mistake, the Newtown tragedy must serve as a catalyst for change, but not the change the President and his Left Wing buddies desire. Sandy Hook should remind us that in any free society there will be evil which must be addressed. Not with the stroke of a pen, or the politically motivated band-aid solution of a self-aggrandizing politician, but rather by way of education, community, prayer, and a fact-based common-sense approach which provides security while preserving liberty. That is the American way, and the best way to honor the memories of those little angels and their teachers.

As both sides debate the fiscal cliff right to the very edge of disaster, “We the People” are poised to absorb the blow of Washington’s inexcusable dysfunction. On the one hand, you have Speaker Boehner who just realized he will indeed be held to account by members of his own party for his lack of fortitude and leadership of recent. On the other hand, President Obama enjoys main stream media neutrality, (and even their support), while he chips (spends) away at what’s left of our fragile economy. We are truly on the brink as a nation.

With the election now behind us, we can see the Obama second term taking shape. For the record, while I vehemently disagree with the President’s ideological stance, I do admire Mr. Obama for his political courage. He simply and truthfully pushed a radical and un-Constitutional agenda on a largely complacent electorate, grievously compromised by revisionism and a lack of historical appreciation for our beloved Republic. He seized on the political moment, took the ball down field and is preparing to go in for the touchdown. Sadly, the loser in this critical play-off game will be The United States of America. I have a sickening feeling about the consequences of being right on this one.

Nevertheless, I think it’s important for folks to understand the simple basics of what is about to happen, and in comparative terms to their own lives.

Most credible experts agree that if sequestration is allowed to go forward, and taxes are allowed to go up on all Americans, the economy will contract approximately 3.5 percent. Now as the U.S. economy itself is only growing at an anemic rate of under 2 percent, and the nation is carrying over $16 Trillion in debt with a real unemployment number of about 9 percent, this is critical. Let’s try and look at this as if it were an average middle class family today. Your monthly bills are around $4000.00, but you’re only bringing in about $2900.00 since your spouse was laid off, and her benefits have long expired. (You’re also on the short list to be laid off in the coming year because your employer will not be able to cover his “Obamacare” costs and penalties, and will have to downsize his workforce). You’re borrowing additional money to make up the difference and pay the interest on your credit. Your “projected income” over the next ten years will not keep up so you have to borrow even more money, expanding your debt profile by amounts you cannot account for without cutting your expenses, changing your spending habits “or” borrowing even more money. For the average family, this will eventually lead you to the point where no one will lend you any more money because they know you cannot possibly pay it back, (and you can’t simply print more). Are you following me?? You will now be forced to cut back in ways that you could never have imagined. Your quality of life will be dramatically altered as you may very well be forced into bankruptcy and your credit rating will be destroyed. You will likely lose your home and your car to foreclosure and/or repossession, and your wages may be garnished as debt collectors come for what little you have left. I know that you all are beginning to see this in the appropriate context. Now what the heck do you think it means for our country? What it means is this “cliff” is more like a black hole from which we may never return, but with one major difference for the federal government. They enjoy a luxury you and I do not, the power to tax until the well runs dry to correct the short-fall, ala France, Greece and Spain and their crippling tax rates.

Now we can debate all day about why both parties have politicized the argument in the manner they have, and many a short-sighted partisan fool will do just that. But it will not change the fact that our country’s economy is a mere shadow of what it was. And it certainly won’t change the fact that our elected officials at every level have screwed us to the point where they themselves have now thrown up their hands in utter frustration for lack of ideas or an appropriate and non-political solution.

Ya know, I remember reading the Erskine/Bowles report and listening to them talking about how their recommendations would be painful on all levels, and that was if we adopted those recommendations. The fact that President Obama and Congress have chosen to ignore them, leaves me to wonder if our economic wounds are now fatal.

Transition August, 2013

Hello “Patriot64″ readers and fans. We will finally be transitioning to the site application of simply www.patriot64.com. It has been under construction for a while and should be ready for full release in the next few weeks. Don’t worry, when it goes on-line you will automatically be redirected from the old blog site which will remain active as an archive. We ask that you register and bookmark the new site also for your convenience. Thanks for being part of the discussion and we hope you enjoy "patriot64.com". Remember, “truth and reason first”… Spread the word…

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7-4-1776

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-----

“We the People”

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."